Wednesday, November 5, 2008

The Case Against Propositions

In the federal government there is an intricately wrought system of checks and balances to prevent what happened in California yesterday. Clearly, we can be moved by fear and demagoguery too easily to allow such vital decisions to be made by thin majorities whose minds may soon change again.

I would add that it is a little regarded, often comically misunderstood, reality that we live in a constitutional republic, a government explicitly designed to protect against a tyranny of the majority. Arguments against the California Supreme Court's decision should focus on the constitutionality of their rendering, not its popularity.